Censorship in Children’s Literature

Description

Censorship in Children’s Literature Please read one of the selections listed below and research the censorship history of the book(s). Please reference the specific objections that have been made to the book, including specific details of at least one challenge to the book (date and place as well as the objections); the historical context for the controversy, if applicable; your judgment on the controversy (Do you agree with those challenging the book? Disagree? Support your agreement or disagreement with examples from the book. Choose from the following titles for the Censorship Essay. Copies of these books are available at the Stanislaus County Library and, for some of the titles, the MJC Library. Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey (you can choose one title or discuss the series in general) Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson The Giver by Lois Lowry James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Harry Potter series by JK Rowling (you can choose one title or discuss the series in general) Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas Drama by Raina Telgemeier George by Alex Gino Here are a few starting points for source material for Essay 2: The web is full of non-authoritative information on this topic. Consider using the below sources first. NOTE: Each of these sources has information on the challenge history of some of the books on the list, not all of them. American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/index.cfm American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/freedownloads (go to bottom of page and click on the PDFs for helpful information on banning of books) ALA Office and Banned Books Week: https://bannedbooksweek.org/ Email oif@ala.org (the Office for Intellectual Freedom will respond to an email request for the challenge history of a particular book – usually within 48 hours.) Banned in the USA (Foerstel); in MJC Library’s e-book collection Hit List for Children 2 (Becker); on 2-hour reserve at MJC Library Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds (Sova); on 2-hour reserve at MJC Library Newspaper articles—if you have the place and date of a challenge, an MJC Research Librarian can assist you in locating local newspaper coverage of the incident (you could use the Ask a Librarian link at the library online) Important Miscellaneous Information: Students should aim for 3-4 pages of text, not including any graphics (which are optional) and not including the works cited page. Your analysis should incorporate one of the listed books (or a series of books) and at least one other authoritative source. If your book has had multiple challenges spanning many years, pick a challenge or type of challenge to respond to in your paper; do not spend half the paper listing every challenge ever made to your book. Plan ahead and get authoritative information on your book’s challenge. Believe me: last minute Googling of this topic will yield non-authoritative sources. You must include the year and the place of the challenge you have chosen to respond to. If your source does not include this information, it is not sufficiently authoritative. Please understand that sources such as Wikipedia, About.com, Dictionary.com, SparkNotes (or other literature summary sites), and other sites should not be used as professional sources. Please use sources found from MJC’s library, journal list, and online periodical databases. The bulk of your paper should cover your judgement of the controversy. Be detailed about WHY you think this book should be removed, restricted, etc. or WHY you think it shouldn’t be. For help in thinking about book challenges, refer to the readings in Week 16 (or Week 7 in the summer) (“What Makes a Good Banned Book”) and the website of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Understanding the larger issues involved in censorship will help you think creatively about this topic. I am interested in YOUR opinion. Support your opinion with evidence from the book. For example, if you were defending Harriet the Spy against challenges that it is disrespectful to adults, you might write about the scenes where Ole Golly is so honest. Be sure to write a clear, accurate Works Cited page and match any sources on your works cited page to their parenthetical citations within the text. MLA must be observed in formatting and documenting (both on your Works Cited page and parenthetically—see resources in week 15, unit 13 in the summer) Please review plagiarism policies in syllabus and remember that plagiarism is not tolerated in any form.